In the latest Superman movie, Superman was very clearly a Christ figure. It was particularly obvious when Luthor tortured and battered him so badly. I couldn't bear to see Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ", but I thought that the torture that Superman had to endure in "Superman Returns" was meant to remind us both of Gibson's movie and of Jesus' suffering in general. Jesus had to suffer to save humanity and overcome the power of death, and Superman had to suffer in order to eventually save humanity and overcome the power of Luthor. The idea that a man can triumph through pain and death is a particularly Christian idea.
Ann
